BROWNSVILLE, CA (MPG) - The community came together in full mountaineer fashion for another Mountain Fair weekend in Brownsville, Aug. 22-23, bringing logging competitions, local vendors and generations of foothill residents together for one of the area’s longest-running traditions.

The annual event, hosted by Yuba Feather Community Services (YFCS), serves as a key fundraiser for the nonprofit organization, which supports parks, recreation, community programs and gathering spaces throughout the Yuba Feather area.

A competitor takes on one of the logging events during the Aug. 22-23 Mountain Fair in Brownsville. Photo by Chris Pedigo

“This fair started right here in 1974, as these were state properties and then were acquired by community services for the purpose of having a medical center. But they needed to raise funds to refurbish it,” said Mike Mayo, an event organizer, YFCS board officer and community coordinator. “The first year was kind of a dud. It was just a craft show, and they got the idea to add the logging show, and that's what made it popular.”

More than five decades later, the logging show remains at the heart of the Mountain Fair.

“Terrible Ted” and Bob W., two hot saw competitors, said they have been part of the festivities since nearly the beginning. The pair jokingly referred to themselves as “PBR Racers” — poor boy racing — relying on the previous day's winnings to cover their entry into the next competition.

Fairgoers embrace the Mountain Fair’s old-time spirit in period-inspired dress during the Aug. 22-23 festivities in Brownsville. Photo by Chris Pedigo

Hot saw competitions pit competitors against the clock using powerful, heavily modified racing chainsaws to cut rounds, known as “cookies,” from a log as quickly and precisely as possible.

“We spend all of our allowance on this,” Ted said. “If we don't win on Saturday, we don't have enough money to enter on Sunday. So we have to win one, and well, we thank God we did, so we could enter the day.”

Among their fiercest competitors this year was George Harrison, who appeared throughout the weekend competing in a majority of the logging events alongside his children. Bob recalled seeing Harrison's family involved in the sport years earlier.

“His father-in-law had a West Bend chainsaw like that, running nitromethane in a big old salmon belly bar,” Bob said. “And it was the first time I'd ever seen nitromethane in a chainsaw — when he hit the wood, it threw spaghetti over the fence. It wasn't like sawdust, like nice chips, it was like spaghetti all over the yard.”

A pair works together during a crosscut sawing competition at the Mountain Fair, held Aug. 22-23 in Brownsville. Photo by Chris Pedigo

That logging tradition wasn't limited to the adults. In between competition events, children could be seen practicing their own logging techniques, jumping over logs and tossing axes, while young entrepreneurs worked booths throughout the fairgrounds. Among them was 13-year-old James Butterworth, serving wood-fired pizzas, and the Lemon League, operated by four local homeschool students all under the age of 13.

“It's just a great community, a lot of good people up here,” said local photographer Chris Pedigo.

A chainsaw artist carves a bear from a log during the Aug. 22-23 Mountain Fair in Brownsville. Photo by Chris Pedigo

Seeing the fair continue to regain momentum has been reassuring for Mayo, who said volunteerism and community activities declined in the years surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. The Mountain Fair disappeared for a time, along with the Forest Service and programs such as Little League and adult softball.

“I kind of felt like if we had this back, then other people would get inspired, and it sort of worked,” Mayo said, noting that both softball and little league had returned this year.

Funds raised through this year’s Mountain Fair will help address aging infrastructure on the YFCS grounds. While the fair itself occupies roughly six acres, the organization’s larger 40-acre lease includes ball fields, a community center, amphitheater and walking trails.

“Terrible Ted” and Bob W. embrace following Bob’s hot saw win Saturday, Aug. 22, at the Mountain Fair in Brownsville. Photo by Chris Pedigo